Preparing young people for becoming responsible citizens is an important educational aim. The school subject of social studies contributes to this wider educational aim by focusing on knowledge, skills and values to support young people in developing their knowledgeable participation in democratic processes. As social studies combines a focus on knowledge and participation, students’ own effort is of vital importance. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors associated with students’ effort in upper-secondary social studies. The survey sample comprised 264 upper-secondary students (16 to 17 years old) from schools located in urban and rural areas in three Norwegian counties. Regression analysis was used to assess the strength of statistical associations between the dependent variable—students’ effort—and the hypothesised antecedents: students’ perceptions of citizenship preparation in social studies, students’ self-efficacy in social studies, students’ perceptions of the teacher’s expectations in social studies, students’ relational trust toward the teacher, gender and books in the home. Our findings show that all of these factors, except for teacher expectations and relational trust, were significantly related to students’ effort. The results are discussed, and implications for social studies and further research are outlined.

Department heads are increasingly responsible for instructional leadership. Therefore, it is important to understand the antecedents of self-efficacy in their work, which can motivate them to increase their leadership efforts. Our theoretical model depends on principals’ feedback for department heads, department heads’ trust in their principals, and perceptions of time pressure. We argue that the relational trust between department heads and principals creates social exchanges that catalyze department heads’ self-efficacy in instructional leadership, perceived job autonomy, and perceived role clarity. We explored our theoretical model using structural equation modeling of cross-sectional survey data completed anonymously by department heads. We found that effective feedbackbased school leadership is positively related to department heads’ self-efficacy and perceptions of job autonomy and role clarity, with relational trust between the principal and department heads playing a key role. Time pressure is also positively associated with department heads’ mentoring self-efficacy. This study fills a gap in the literature and contributes to the field of leadership in learning by explaining the various antecedents to department heads’ selfefficacy, perceived job autonomy, and role clarity.

Mentoring of pre-service teachers in their school practicum is vital to integrating different parts of the educational programmes and supporting the pre-service teachers to become educational professionals, but for mentors in schools this task often comes on top of the other requirements they face as teachers. In this study, we present findings from a self-report survey completed by 295 mentors in two teacher education institutions in Norway. Using structural equation modelling of cross-sectional survey data, the study explores predictions of the effort mentors put into their work in supporting the development of pre-service teachers. The findings indicate that affective commitment predicts mentor’s efforts in mentoring and that professional development of mentors through programs designed to develop a professional identity as mentors could enhance their feeling of being teacher educators, and thereby having the willingness to put effort into their jobs as mentors.

There is often a fragmentation between campus-based theoretical preparation of pre-service teachers and their practice in schools supported by school-based mentors. One of the fragmentation issues is related to how school-based teachers being mentors for pre-service teachers consider themselves as teachers and as ‘teacher educators’. Thus, school mentors play a key role in integrating theoretical and practical knowledge and integration thus involves a two-way relationship between mentors in schools learning from teacher education programmes and educational programs learning from educational practices in school. This study addresses the problem of fragmentation by focusing on factors which contribute to mentors perceived integration in teacher education programs. We have collected questionnaires from 293 mentors and analysed data using structural equation models (SEM) in IBM/Amos. We include mentors’ specific education and training for mentoring, their affective commitment to mentoring, their active use of theory and their positive believes about successful outcome of their mentoring as important variables. We also explore how gender and years of mentor practice might contribute to mentor integration. We compared participants from three university programmes. The implications of this research for teacher practice are discussed.

The duration of on-campus academic engagements is an uncertain and highly debated indicator of study input. Researchers adopt this indicator with the expectation that student teachers must invest an amount of time and effort in their courses that more or less equals a normal workweek. In the present empirical study, we examine factors influencing the duration of student teachers’ on-campus academic engagements in Norway and Finland using survey data (n = 567). While the teaching profession is highly respected in Finland, and universities make selections for teacher education programs, the profession has a relatively low status in Norway. To meet the objectives of this study, we conducted an OLS regression analysis and found that students’ self-discipline and perceived study requirements are the most important predictors of the duration of their on-campus academic engagements. In addition, the motivation to achieve a goal is also significant, while no significant effect was found for intrinsic motivation. Finally, the study shows no significant differences between the coefficients for the Norwegian and Finnish variable.

Several European countries have experienced both a dearth of and reduction in the quality of applicants to teacher education study programmes. There is also significant leakage from these programmes. The rationale for this study therefore lies in the need to reduce teacher attrition. Research indicates that affective commitment to a profession is an important factor in sustaining good professional practice. This study explores the antecedents of both commitment and turnover intention among student teachers in Norway. The analysis indicates that there are stronger associations between commitment and experiences (particularly from dialogues with school mentors) gained during and after teaching practice in schools than is the case for the more campus-based elements of training. One implication is that there may be justification for placing emphasis on improving the preparation of school mentors and on points of contact between teacher educators and school mentors.

This study focuses on how different educational programmes contribute to student teachers efficacy for classroom management and their abilities to provide learning opportunities and good classroom outcomes. Data were gathered from 491 student teachers attending different teacher education programmes in Norway and analysed via structural equation modelling. The results revealed the following: (1) problem behaviour in the classroom has a negative effect on student teacher efficacy, (2) students' perceptions of the integration of pedagogic knowledge and practice supports students' efficacy beliefs, (3) support from supervisors contributes positively to student teachers' efficacy beliefs, and (4) student teachers in university college programmes for primary school teaching report higher teacher efficacy than students in university programmes for secondary school teaching.

The purpose of this article is to contribute to an improved understanding of (1) changes in bargaining models between employer and employees, and (2) differences in these changes in Norway and Denmark. The aim is to explain divergent outcomes of collective bargaining regarding teachers’ working hours in Norway and Denmark. Social media is assumed to reinforce grass-roots rebellion level as well as the internal decision-making structure within the unions. The theoretical framework draws on situational analysis in order to understand how exercising of power at different levels influences the negotiations between employer and employee as well as the outcome. Drawing on situational analysis, the research method has a comparative approach, comparing two case studies, one from the Norwegian context and one from the Danish. The Danish employers’ organisation succeeded to perform major changes after a lock out, whereas the same ambition failed in Norway because of a teacher strike supported by social media. By using a comparative method, based on analyses of the two cases, the author aims to explain possible mechanisms of negotiation. The findings, presented in the discussion, show that new circumstances concerning the work of the teacher unions are disrupting the prevailing industrial negotiation model. The force of social media and newspapers in evoking public sympathy for teacher unions in Norway is an important explanatory factor regarding outcome differences in Norway and Denmark.

This study examines newly qualified Danish teachers perceptions of peer collaboration through the lens of organisational theory. In Denmark, a new teacher employment policy has introduced primary and secondary school reforms aimed at greater employee collaboration, increased workloads and extended learning time. In this article, we explore the organisational antecedents of collaboration-oriented activities among newly qualified teachers in Denmark. This study represents only a snapshot of newly qualified teachers perceptions of school organisations in the wake of the reforms. The sample was comprised of 143 newly qualified teachers in Denmark that were nominated by their schools principals. Structural equation modelling of the cross-sectional survey data was used to assess the strength of statistical associations between the dependent variable and the hypothesised organisational antecedents. Teacherprincipal trust is not associated with collaboration among newly qualified Danish teachers. However, this trust seems to contribute to collaboration, albeit in a contradictory wayfirst negatively through increased job autonomy, and then positively through increased affective commitment to the organisation. Role clarity, organisational citizenship behaviour, job autonomy and affective commitment were all associated with newly qualified teachers involvement in collaboration. Further, affective commitment and job autonomy were found to have mediating characteristics.

A number of evaluations have shown that Norwegian student teachers spend little time studying on their course. In this study, we investigate the influence of selected antecedents of student teachers' time-on-task, based on survey data and structural equation modelling. The main finding is that student self-discipline and the level of external academic pressure stands out as significant predictors of student time on task. This is particularly evident regarding time on task on individual studies and student led colloquiums. The type of teacher education programme appears to be of significance. This is mainly explained by a higher reported average time use on lectures and teacher led seminars at the university colleges than at the universities. If a low level of time on task is regarded a problem, a tightening of the work requirements in the campus-based elements of teacher education should be a possible remedy.

Time capacity is defined here as the individual teacher’s perceived time for professional development (e.g., the capacity to develop and renew oneself as a teacher). The pressure of paperwork on the individual teacher should not be so demanding that it goes beyond the teacher’s time for professional development. The purpose of this paper is to explore factors influencing teachers’ individual time capacity at schools that report to external accountability systems. The methodology involved was a cross-sectional survey of 243 teachers from 11 schools in a Norwegian municipality. Structural equation analysis indicates that clear leadership and teacher-principal trustships influence teachers’ perceived time capacity mainly as mediated effects via social exchange. Implications for school practice and directions for future research are discussed.

For more than three decades, researchers, policy makers and educationalists have all harboured great expectations towards the use of technology in schools. This belief has received a hard knock after an OECD 2015 report has shown that computers do not improve pupil results: Investing heavily in school computers and classroom technology does not improve pupils’ performance, and frequent use of computers in schools is more likely to be associated with lower results. Educational technology has raised false expectations! The prevailing view of educational technology has shifted. Nevertheless, hardly anyone wishes for a situation in which pupils do not use technology in the service of learning: education is supposed to prepare for the future, and it is evident that technology is one of the answers to the challenges of the future. Many school professionals, however, feel uncertain how schools should tackle challenges relating to the distractions that hamper in-depth learning, easy cut-and-paste solutions and online offensiveness that occur while pupils are at school. The initiative to provide a tablet or PC for each pupil is continuing despite a lack of evidence that it is beneficial to learning. School professionals and policy makers are seeking answers to the question of how schools ought to relate to challenges created by the use of technology in the school. This book is an attempt to raise questions and start a debate. It presents new research relevant to a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities inherent in educational technology and strategies are discussed in relation to handling these challenges. Rather than presenting ready solutions, the book attempts to provoke debate and to contribute to a firmer grasp on reality. The chapters in this volume offer an up-to-date discussion. In tackling the critical issues created by educational technology, this book provides an important resource for student teachers, teachers, education scholars and those interested in a critical examination of digital expectations and experiences in school education. The authors do not present a common front on the complex question of the proper use of technology in the school but instead present a diversity of arguments and viewpoints.